Hustler: Derrick Ssekamatte

Passionate: Derrick Ssekamatte is passionate about makeup that he shelved his degree in Counselling and Guidance to pursue what he loves. He is the man behind Beats by Deryk.What do you exactly do? I do makeup for commercial and editorials, bridal and baby showers. I also conduct one on one makeup classes and outsourcing of makeup products.

When did you start doing makeup? Early last year after searching for a job in vain.

Why this particular kind of work? After searching for a job in vain, I talked to a friend, who happened to be a front desk personnel at a prominent photo studio in town. She said I could acquire the skills fast. But I also had the enthusiasm and passion.

How did you get the skills? My friend introduced me to the studio makeup artist to mentor me and I also followed other make-up artists.

What does it take to be a makeup artist? Passion, patience, enthusiasm, an open mind, good marketing and client skills and a good character. Makeup is also expensive so you need some money.

Any challenges? The business has quite a lot of challenges but personally I have to deal with clients who never keep time, people who think doing makeup is easy.

How do you handle difficult clients? I try to make stubborn clients understand what is good for them, contrary to their preferences.

What makes you stand out? The fact that my facebeats don’t change someone into another person. Makeup is not supposed to be a mask but rather a tool to enhance one’s natural beauty.

How much do you charge? I charge between Shs50,000 and Shs700,000, depending on the function, number of people and location.

What has been your peak moment so far? I have had quite many but the best is when I worked on Justice Catherine Bamugemereire for her Flair magazine shoot last year. I have also worked on Lillian Mbabazi, Crystal Newman, Sheila Gashumba, Tinah Teise.

How financially sustaining is his job? This work may not provide a stable income but I am guaranteed of a client/s every week. Money also has a way of coming in when you least expect it.